Review: ‘Egg’

After his Nuri Bilge Ceylan Lite exercise, “Angel’s Fall,” Turkish writer-helmer Semih Kaplanoglu retreats into a far less elegaic universe with third feature “Egg.” Faux metaphysical snoozeroo, centered on a poet returning to his village after his mother’s death, is pure fest fare for the long-take, minimalist crowd.

Reaching his family home, Yusuf (Nejat Isler) meets his brother’s granddaughter, Ayla (Saadet Isil Aksoy), who’d looked after his mom, Zehra (Semra Kaplanoglu). Ayla asks Yusuf to perform the sacrifice of a ram his mom had never been able to, so at the hour mark, the pair set off in his jalopy, overnighting at a hotel where a wedding reception is taking place. On the way back, Yusuf asks Ayla why his mother wanted the sacrifice. “I don’t know,” she replies. That night, Yusuf is prevented from leaving the village by a huge, slobbering, ornery mutt. Technically O.K. pic is the first in a trilogy, “Honey, Milk and Egg,” which the helmer is (natch) presenting in reverse order. “For me, filmmaking is an entirely metaphysical and philosophical endeavor,” writes Kaplanoglu in the pic’s press notes. Some content would be nice, too.